


While You Slept

by Kaytla



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-22
Updated: 2011-06-22
Packaged: 2017-10-20 15:50:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaytla/pseuds/Kaytla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Very short ramble inspired by a beautiful picture by one of my favourite artists.</p>
            </blockquote>





	While You Slept

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [While You Slept](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/3610) by YanaGoya (artist, no author). 



Early morning sunlight filtered through the trees, dancing across the soft earth beneath his feet, warming his skin. The quiet chirping of birds around him gave the forest a false sense of peace, hiding the secret that terrified the villagers in the nearby ningen settlement.

A monster slumbered deep within these woods.

A clawed hand brushed aside a low hanging branch and revealed a clearing. In the middle, a massive tree reared up high into the sky, its leaves so dense that barely any sunlight made it through. There was a slight tang in the air, faint even to his senses; the taste of muted youki and the lingering magic that suppressed it.

Sesshomaru paid this little attention. His narrowed eyes were fixed upon the silver-haired figure bound to the tree's trunk, still as death, trapped in an unnatural sleep.

Inuyasha.

Not much hand changed since Sesshomaru had last set foot in this place; simple curiosity brought him back. Ten years had passed since then, and Inuyasha remained the same. Some foliage had since grown almost to cradle his body, or bind it tighter to the tree; it was hard to tell. Nothing else, however, had changed. His clothing had not been ravaged by the passage of time, nor had Inuyasha's body been mauled by the local wildlife. The miko who had trapped the hanyou had been powerful indeed.

Sesshomaru moved forward until he was close enough to touch. Close enough to hear the soft, measured breathing. Inuyasha's bangs had fallen across his face and, on some unknown impulse, Sesshomaru reached out to brush them away.

He had never touched his brother like this before. As a desperate child, the hanyou had once appeared before him, hoping for acceptance and shelter. A disdainful swipe of acidic claws had disabused the cretin of the notion that he would find welcome with Sesshomaru. Since then, he had had few encounters with the hanyou. Certainly no need to be in such close proximity before.

The hair shifting through his fingers was thicker than his own and lacked its fluid, silky qualities, but had a downy softness that was not unlike the the furred ear that brushed his knuckles. It was a surprising discovery, for he had always assumed the hanyou's hair would mirror his coarse nature. Perhaps there was just a little bit more to his brother than he had thought.

Sesshomaru rid himself of that thought as soon as it appeared and put the matter aside. His attention shifted instead to a study of Inuyasha's face. He looked young, Sesshomaru realised. Vulnerable and almost innocent in his sleep. Helpless. Sesshomaru frowned. Such a thing was not befitting an inuyoukai. No youkai Inuyasha's age should look so fragile, like a sleeping child.

Sesshomaru's hand drifted away and his eyes narrowed further as they fell on the sacred arrow protruding from the hanyou's chest. Had the arrow been anything other than sealing, it would have killed the fool, for it pierced him straight through the heart. The miko had had exceptional aim as well as power, it seemed. However, no matter how great her spiritual powers were, they mattered little to a daiyoukai. He was certain he could break the arrow and end the spell.

But there was no reason to. There had been no reason to ten years ago. It was Inuyasha's own failings that led to this. Sesshomaru had learned back then what had truly been the hanyou's doom: useless, human emotion. Something no true youkai of worth would fall prey to. At least Inuyasha had managed to fatally wound the miko responsible, or the shame would have been truly unbearable.

The fact remained, however, that Inuyasha's current state was his own fault. If he was unable to defend himself against such an attack, he was every bit as weak as Sesshomaru had thought. Such a pathetical fool deserved this fate.

Without a backwards glance, Sesshomaru turned and left.


End file.
